Fishing Reports

The sun is shining!  It's been a wet, cold Spring, but I can't help but feel like we've turned the corner into less of a soaker, and more of  a melter.

There is going to be lots of water all summer, as the Bureau of Rec stated that we have enough water to average 12,000 cfs on the Bighorn until July 31st.  Of course, we'll have a spike before that, then hopefully the water will begin to come down in the middle of July sometime. 

As of today, the flow should go up to 13,300 cfs and may climb higher (depending on how the snow pack comes off).

This high water is something to be aware of as only experienced rowers should be taking on the responsibility of handling the big water.

That said, the big water will quickly cleanse the river of the siltation that's occurred as a result of the Spring rains, and will clear things up soon.

Expect that the dry fly fishing is over until the water comes back down, but nymphing will continue to be very productive.  Expect that the "worm hatch" will take over the diet of the fish, replacing the midge and baetis portion, but sowbugs will remain an important part.

Don't forget about streamer fishing.  As the slack water (rearing habitat for young fish) disappears, you'll have predatory fish taking advantage of the fact that fish will be compressed into limited holding water until the water temp gets into the mid-50's.

Well, that's an overview of high water...be safe out there!

Tight Lines,
Jeremy

Oh, where to begin.  The Spring rains just won't stop, and the good folks at the Bureau of Rec have been busy adjusting the flows, trying not to wash out the I-90 bridge at Hardin.  Flows had gone from 8,000 cfs down to 3,500 (back up to 4,500 then back down to 3,500, again).  It was just communicated to me that the flows are on their way back up again, as it should reach 5,000 cfs by tomorrow morning.

Rotton Grass Creek had been over the road near St. Xavier, but has receeded to the point where the bridge is now passable.  It's only open to single lane traffic for now, though.

Fishing, for those who can get there has been excellent with good baetis hatches, and excellent streamer fishing!

It's going to be one heck of a high water year, as the lake has filled 13 feet since last Friday.  This water situation is something that I've never seen before, so let's hope the snow comes off slowly. 

Crazy times, but the fish don't care.  Good luck getting here, but the reward is waiting!

Tight Lines,
Jeremy

O.K., I've been working a lot, and haven't thought about posting a report in a little while, so I'll catch you up.

It's been running at 6,500 cfs for a couple of weeks, but I just got word that they're dropping it back down to 6,000 as they Bureau feels like they're approaching their stated goal of 25 ft. of room in the lake pre-runoff.  If we get a warm snap, of course this could be adjusted, but for now we're in better shape for handling the snow melt than in recent memory.

The downside:

Our usually reliable Spring Baetis hatch has been delayed, but on the days when a small spurt comes, it always seems to be windy anyway.

The upside:

Nymphing has been very good, and the river is thankfully fairly moss free.  It's pretty user friendly with all of the young fish, and clean drifts.  Streamer fishing has been fun, but just O.K.

As of the last few days, the Baetis have arrived, and (weather permitting) you should get some fish up in the little bit of slack water that's there.

Soap Creek has been flowing, keeping everyone on the upper river, but this little break (for the fish on the lower) is usually pretty good for the long haul of the season.

Boat traffic is high, but it always is in May.  Plenty of fish for everyone!

Tight Lines,
Jeremy

Had a nice trip over the past 3 days.  Had some good streamer fishing on the lower river (with Bighorn Bugger, and my "Dirty Red Bugger"), although it slowed down considerably yesterday afternoon as the storm came in. 

Also thought that 3-B nymphed well on Wednesday, using mostly pink soft hackles, and midge pupae.  Overall fish numbers were down a bit, but was a better day in terms of average size.

We're continuing to see midges every day, and a smattering of Baetis.  Calm weather is probably the major obstacle to good dry fly fishing, as we're getting rain/snow/wind more often than not.

The flow went up to 3,250 cfs on Monday, and are scheduled to go up to 3,750 cfs today.  It'll be interesting to see where this leads, as inflows continue to go up.

I'll keep you posted!

Tight Lines,
Jeremy

As far as the spring water situation is concerned, I thought it might be helpful to include today's statement to the "Friends of the Bighorn River" concerning the Bureau of Reclamation's operation plan.

"Friends,

With the lake elevation the sixth highest on record for this date,
ample snowpack and a wet inflow forecast, its no surprise this message
arrived a few minutes ago from Reclamation:

"Inflows to Bighorn Lake continue to exceed our projections.  To keep
on-track with reaching a reservoir elevation target of approximately
3614 feet by mid-May, releases to the Bighorn River will be increased
from 2,750 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 3,000 cfs later today."

Also, this Saturday, the Bighorn River Alliance will be holding a
river cleanup and would appreciate a few hours of your time. Plan on
meeting this Saturday morning at 9am at the Bighorn Trout Shop,
working the river for a few hours and fishing in the afternoon. The
Alliance will also be hosting a barbeque at the Bighorn River Lodge
(by Bighorn FAS) at 4pm and all cleanup helpers are invited.  It
should be great fun, and your participation is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

-Doug"

That's Doug Haacke, #1 advocate for the Bighorn River.

NOTE- Current lake elevation is 3,621 ft. (18.6 ft. below full pool) so their goal is to 3,614 ft. in order to better handle runoff.  I think it's reasonable to expect that our flows will continue to go up to around 4,000 cfs in order to accommodate current inflows and reach their goal.

Tight Lines,
Jeremy

Yesterday marked the first trip of my 12th season, and was a great day to be out despite the weather.  I want to thank Brian for the trip, see you next Saturday!

Water temp is in the upper 30's still, and no real sign of baetis.  Had some midges hatching, but not a real aggressive dry fly bite.  I can tell that the dry fly fishing is on it's way soon, though.  Streamer fishing was slow, as well.  The flow was 2,750 cfs, but I just received word that we're going up to 3,000 cfs later today.  When I pumped fish, I found only small sowbugs and black midge pupae.

Nymphing was the story of the day.  I tied on a pink #14,a tan #16 soft hackle, and fished it all day.  I did start out with a #20 tan for a short period of time, but was quickly obvious going small was not necessary.  We only changed flies to put on fresh ones, otherwise.  Of course lots of our fish were of the smaller variety, but we were able to get some nice (18 plus inch fish) too.  Looks like a very healthy river, and a good year to come.

Tight Lines,
Jeremy